Fri November 18, 2011

Detroit Mayor Plans To Lay Off 1,000 City Employees

"Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, who outlined an emergency plan two days ago, isn't wasting any time taking action" in tackling his city's financial crisis, our colleague Micki Maynard at the Changing Gears project reports. "Today, Bing said the city will lay off 1,000 employees, or about 9 percent of the city's payroll, by Feb. 25."

Bing (D), writes the Detroit Free Press, said in a statement that the layoffs "will be strategic. We will limit the impact on residents, protecting core services like police and fire protection as much as we can."

According to The Detroit News, "targeted employees will be notified the week of Dec. 5 and their positions eliminated by Feb. 25. ... The move is expected to save the city about $14 million this fiscal year, which ends in June.

As Changing Gears reported Thursday, "Detroit faces a cash-flow shortfall of $45 million as soon as April, at which time it would be insolvent. Without immediate changes, the state of Michigan will likely appoint an emergency manager whose power exceeds the mayor and city council."

The Free Press says some city council members have said they'll unveil a plan of their own, possibly with even deeper cuts, on Monday.